The Effect of Blast Exposure Distance on Hardness and Reduced Modulus Properties of Lead-Free Solder

This study discussed the effect of blast exposure distance of lead-free solder on micromechanical properties. Sn-Ag-Cu solder samples were exposed to 1000 g of Plastic Explosive. The soldered samples were placed at a distance of 1 m, 2 m and 4 m distance from the blast source. In order to study micromechanical properties in localized and more details, the nanoindentation approach was used. The indentation was performed at the center of the solder to examine the hardness and reduced modulus properties. The load-depth curve of indentation for 1 m distance from the blast source has apparent the discontinuity during loading as compared to the control sample. The hardness value increased as the distance from the blast source increased. The shortest distance from the blast source gives a high impact on the degradation of hardness properties as compared to others. This result is important in assessing the effect of exposure distance from the blast source.